Don't Close Your Eyes! by R.L. Stine Read Free Book Online Page B

and tried my sidestroke. But my arms felt heavy. I didn't have the strength to kick. Too tired … too sleepy …
    I felt myself sink under the surface.
    Too sleepy …
    I couldn't move my arms, my legs. Too tired and weak.
    I shut my eyes and sank lower … lower.
    From somewhere far away, I heard a splash. Soon after, two hands grabbed my waist. I opened my eyes and saw Nicky swimming beside me. He pulled me to the surface.
    “Saved your life, Max.”
    I raised my head and took one deep breath, then another.
    Nicky floated me to the side of the pool. Coach Freeley stood there watching me and shaking his head.
    “I never had a swimmer
sink
before!” he said.
    “But—” I started.
    “You sank like a rock,” the coach said. “What made you think you could be on the swim team? Did you think we have a hit-the-bottom-first competition?”
    “But…,” I said.
    “See you in gym class, Max,” Coach Freeley said. “At least you can't sink in the gym!”
    Still shaking his head, he started toward the locker room.
    I turned to Nicky. Tara appeared beside him, treading water. “What am I going to do?” I wailed. “My dad will
kill
me! He'll never let me forget it if I don't make the swim team.”
    “Max, call to him,” Tara said. “Tell him that's just your way of warming up.”
    “Yeah,” Nicky said. “Ask for a second chance.”
    “Coach—come back!” I shouted. My hoarse voice echoed off the high tile walls. “That's just the way I warm up.”
    He stepped up to the pool edge. “You warm up by
drowning?”
    I nodded. “It helps my breath control. Please— give me a second chance,” I pleaded.
    He stared down at me. “Promise you won't sink to the bottom?”
    “You'll be impressed,” I said. “Really.”
    He crossed his massive arms in front of hismassive chest. “Go ahead, Max. Show me what you've got.”
    Of course, I didn't have
anything
. I could barely keep my head above water.
    But Nicky and Tara went to work and made me look like an Olympic champion. The coach blew his whistle, and they each grabbed one side and rocketed me through the water. They shot me from end to end so fast, we sent up high waves on both sides. I looked like a torpedo!
    I set the school speed record. I'm sure of it. Pretty good, considering I'd never even moved my arms or legs!
    When I finished and floated over to the side of the pool, I was gasping for breath even though I hadn't moved a muscle.
    Coach Freeley's whistle had fallen to his chest. His eyes bulged. He stared at me openmouthed. “Max, I think I'm gonna try that
sinking
warm-up with the rest of the guys!” he said. “You're fast. You're real fast!”
    “Oh, I can do better than that,” I said.
    Nicky and Tara rolled their eyes.
    “You made the team, buddy,” the coach said, grinning at me. “I want you to demonstrate that stroke to everyone. I like how you keep your arms and legs close together and barely move them. Very aerodynamic. Super! Just super!”
    “Thanks, coach,” I said.
    “Go get dried off. You're gonna be a star, Max.” He turned and hurried away, his sneakers slapping the tiles.
    “A star,” I repeated, yawning. “A star …”
    Nicky and Tara dragged me from the water. “I'm sleepwalking,” I said. “I'm a real zombie. Not a pretend zombie.”
    “But you made the swim team,” Nicky said.
    I sighed. “I nearly drowned.”
    “Max, don't worry,” Tara said, handing me a towel. “Nicky and I have a plan.”
    “Yeah. We've figured out what the old storyteller was telling us,” Nicky said.
    A smile spread over Tara's face. “We'll have you free of Inkweed tonight!” she said.

21
    SOTHISISWHERE we came in. Here we are, back at the beginning.
    I'm sitting across my kitchen table from Traci Wayne. She's thumbing through a
Teen People
magazine, and I'm trying to do her homework for her.
    That's not easy when your eyes keep closing and you just want to lay your head on the table and sleep.
    “Max, do you have to yawn so